PORTUGAL OPEN G1 (DRAWS & LIVESTREAMING SENIOR DIVISION)

PORTUGAL OPEN G1: 297 SENIOR ATHLETES SET TO COMPETE ACROSS 16 WORLD-RANKING CATEGORIES

The Portugal Open will enter its most anticipated stage on Sunday, 26 July, with the senior competition taking centre stage at the Pavilhão Desportivo Municipal de Vila Nova de Gaia.

A total of 297 competitors — 165 men and 132 women — are distributed across the 16 official World Taekwondo weight categories. The entry list represents 42 countries, teams and sporting delegations, confirming the international dimension of Portugal’s first G1-ranked kyorugi event.

The analysis of the official brackets is based on the seeding published by the organisers. Although the document does not provide each competitor’s exact position in the current World Taekwondo ranking, the numbered seeds establish the main favourites in each division.

MEN’S COMPETITION

Men’s -54 kg — 15 athletes

Great Britain’s Zack Sarsoza leads the draw, followed by Spain’s Antonio Ramos Arnay. Portugal’s Rafael Azevedo is seeded third, while Spain’s Adrian Davila is fourth.

Portugal has a significant presence in the category, with several home athletes attempting to reach the medal rounds.

Main favourites:

1. Zack Sarsoza — Great Britain
2. Antonio Ramos Arnay — Spain
3. Rafael Azevedo — Portugal
4. Adrian Davila — Spain

Men’s -58 kg — 23 athletes

Aristeidis Psarros of Greece is the number-one seed, with Milan Molle of the Netherlands placed second. Portugal’s Luis Costa is the third-ranked competitor in the bracket.

With athletes from 14 countries, the division is one of the most internationally diverse on the men’s programme.

Main favourites:

1. Aristeidis Psarros — Greece
2. Milan Molle — Netherlands
3. Luis Costa — Portugal

Men’s -63 kg — 33 athletes

The -63 kg category is the largest of the entire senior competition.

Joep Van of the Netherlands leads a demanding 33-athlete draw, followed by France’s Nathan Jules, Italy’s Riccardo Pastore and Germany’s Feyyaz Gumus.

Spain’s Nicolas Fernandez and Isaac Vives are also among the seeded contenders, while Dinis Varejao represents Portugal as the seventh seed.

Main favourites:

1. Joep Van — Netherlands
2. Nathan Jules — France
3. Riccardo Pastore — Italy
4. Feyyaz Gumus — Germany
5. Nicolas Fernandez — Spain
6. Isaac Vives — Spain
7. Dinis Varejao — Portugal

Men’s -68 kg — 23 athletes

Spain occupies the first two positions in the draw through Joan Jorquera and Adrian Vicente. France’s Baptiste Bonna is seeded third, Iceland’s Leo Speight fourth and Canada’s Ali Hilal fifth. Tunisia’s Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi is the eighth seed and one of the most recognisable international athletes entered in the tournament.

Main favourites:

1. Joan Jorquera — Spain
2. Adrian Vicente — Spain
3. Baptiste Bonna — France
4. Leo Speight — Iceland
5. Ali Hilal — Canada
6. Kristian Borgen — Norway
7. Mateusz Chrzanowski — Poland
8. Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi — Tunisia
9. Francisco Sousa — Portugal

Men’s -74 kg — 24 athletes

Bulgaria’s Stefan Stamenov leads a balanced category featuring competitors from 12 countries.

Mehmet Kani Polat of Türkiye is the second seed, followed by Canada’s Yassine Hilal and Morocco’s Abdelhamid Abdouni. Portugal’s Diogo Rafael Costa is seeded fifth.

Main favourites:

1. Stefan Stamenov — Bulgaria
2. Mehmet Kani Polat — Türkiye
3. Yassine Hilal — Canada
4. Abdelhamid Abdouni — Morocco
5. Diogo Rafael Costa — Portugal

Men’s -80 kg — 25 athletes

Spain once again occupies the two leading positions, with Juan Antonio Milan as the number-one seed and Mikel Fernandez as the second favourite.

Iceland’s Gudmundur Sigurjonsson, Morocco’s Haitam Zarhouti and Greece’s Ioannis Papadopoulos complete the leading group.

Main favourites:

1. Juan Antonio Milan — Spain
2. Mikel Fernandez — Spain
3. Gudmundur Sigurjonsson — Iceland
4. Haitam Zarhouti — Morocco
5. Ioannis Papadopoulos — Greece
6. Ayoub Bouriel — Canada
7. Da Knight-Mitchell — Great Britain
8. Kaan Gumus — Germany
9. Manuel Martinho — Portugal

Men’s -87 kg — 10 athletes

The -87 kg division presents one of the most attractive possible finals of the competition.

Mehdi Abedini, representing the Taekwondo Refugee Team, is the number-one seed, while Tunisia’s Firas Katousi is positioned second.

Both athletes occupy opposite sides of the bracket and could meet in the gold-medal contest should they advance through their respective rounds.

Main favourites:

1. Mehdi Abedini — Taekwondo Refugee Team
2. Firas Katousi — Tunisia

Men’s +87 kg — 12 athletes

Spain’s Sergio Troitino leads the heavyweight category, followed by Hungary’s Kelen Bailey.

Great Britain’s Caden Cunningham and Serbia’s Milos Golubovic are seeded third and fourth respectively.

Main favourites:

1. Sergio Troitino — Spain
2. Kelen Bailey — Hungary
3. Caden Cunningham — Great Britain
4. Milos Golubovic — Serbia

WOMEN’S COMPETITION

Women’s -46 kg — 15 athletes

Italy occupies both leading positions through Sofia Zampetti and Anna Criscuolo.

With only two numbered seeds, the category appears particularly open and could produce several surprises during the early rounds.

Main favourites:

1. Sofia Zampetti — Italy
2. Anna Criscuolo — Italy

Women’s -49 kg — 17 athletes

Italy’s Lucrezia Maloberti is the number-one seed, while Portugal’s Kiara Barroso begins as the second favourite.

Great Britain’s Phoenix Goodman, Portugal’s Ana Rita Patricio and Bulgaria’s Teodora Marinova complete the leading positions.

Main favourites:

1. Lucrezia Maloberti — Italy
2. Kiara Barroso — Portugal
3. Phoenix Goodman — Great Britain
4. Ana Rita Patricio — Portugal
5. Teodora Marinova — Bulgaria

Women’s -53 kg — 23 athletes

Great Britain’s Jodie McKew leads one of the strongest French challenges in the competition.

Aurelie Buttarelli is seeded second, Leny Kamkasoumphou third and Ines Gire fifth, giving France several opportunities to reach the podium.

Main favourites:

1. Jodie McKew — Great Britain
2. Aurelie Buttarelli — France
3. Leny Kamkasoumphou — France
4. Oumaima El — Morocco
5. Ines Gire — France
6. Aleksandra Szymczak — Poland

Women’s -57 kg — 21 athletes

Spain’s Arlet Ortiz is the first seed, followed by Hungary’s Luca Patakfalvy and France’s Kanelya Carabin.

Italy’s Anna Frassica, Spain’s Carla Sesar and Denmark’s Alma Karlsson complete a highly competitive field involving athletes from 13 countries.

Main favourites:

1. Arlet Ortiz — Spain
2. Luca Patakfalvy — Hungary
3. Kanelya Carabin — France
4. Anna Frassica — Italy
5. Carla Sesar — Spain
6. Alma Karlsson — Denmark

Women’s -62 kg — 20 athletes

Miljana Reljikj of North Macedonia leads the bracket, followed by Iceland’s Ingibjorg Gretarsdottir.

Poland’s Agnieszka Krajewska is seeded third, Spain’s Elsa Secanell fourth and Portugal’s Leonor Correia fifth.

Main favourites:

1. Miljana Reljikj — North Macedonia
2. Ingibjorg Gretarsdottir — Iceland
3. Agnieszka Krajewska — Poland
4. Elsa Secanell — Spain
5. Leonor Correia — Portugal

Women’s -67 kg — 13 athletes

Greece’s Styliani Marentaki enters as the leading seed, while Great Britain’s Chloe Roberts is second.

Mali’s Iman Kanoute is third and Brazil’s Milena Titoneli fourth. Despite being fourth in the bracket, Titoneli is one of the most experienced and recognisable competitors in the division.

Main favourites:

1. Styliani Marentaki — Greece
2. Chloe Roberts — Great Britain
3. Iman Kanoute — Mali
4. Milena Titoneli — Brazil

Women’s -73 kg — 13 athletes

Germany’s Emily Hoermann leads the category ahead of Spain’s Belen Moran.

Belgium’s Sarah Chaari is seeded third and Helena Garcia of Spain fourth. Chaari is among the major international names entered in the women’s competition.

Main favourites:

1. Emily Hoermann — Germany
2. Belen Moran — Spain
3. Sarah Chaari — Belgium
4. Helena Garcia — Spain

Women’s +73 kg — 10 athletes

Spain’s Tania Castineira leads the women’s heavyweight bracket, with Great Britain’s Lauren Williams positioned as the second seed.

The two favourites are located on opposite sides of the draw and could meet in the final.

Main favourites:

1. Tania Castineira — Spain
2. Lauren Williams — Great Britain

THE LARGEST CATEGORIES

The men’s competition has the greater overall participation, with 165 athletes compared with 132 women.

The most heavily populated categories are:

1. Men’s -63 kg — 33 athletes
2. Men’s -80 kg — 25 athletes
3. Men’s -74 kg — 24 athletes
4. Men’s -68 kg — 23 athletes
5. Men’s -58 kg and women’s -53 kg — 23 athletes each

The smallest brackets are men’s -87 kg and women’s +73 kg, both featuring ten competitors.

Men’s -63 kg is also the most internationally diverse category, with athletes representing 19 countries or delegations. Women’s -57 kg leads the female programme with representatives from 13 countries.

SPAIN AND PORTUGAL SEEK A LEADING ROLE

Spain enters the senior competition with a significant number of athletes and leading seeds across several categories. Its strongest positions can be found in men’s -68 kg, -80 kg and +87 kg, as well as several women’s divisions.

Portugal will attempt to capitalise on competing at home. The host nation has seeded contenders such as Rafael Azevedo, Luis Costa, Diogo Rafael Costa, Manuel Martinho, Kiara Barroso, Ana Rita Patricio and Leonor Correia.

The size of the Portuguese delegation also provides several opportunities to secure medals and collect valuable World Taekwondo ranking points.

AN INTERNATIONAL FIELD

The presence of athletes such as Firas Katousi, Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi, Milena Titoneli, Miljana Reljikj, Kanelya Carabin, Sarah Chaari and Lauren Williams adds significant international interest to the event.

Their participation, combined with the large delegations from Spain, Portugal, France, Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Brazil, Poland, Bulgaria, Italy and Denmark, gives the Portugal Open a highly competitive senior field.

With 297 athletes, 16 weight categories and representatives from 42 countries and delegations, Vila Nova de Gaia is preparing for a decisive day in the history of Portuguese taekwondo.

DRAWS SENIOR